To Kill an Enderdragon
by Ikerot Dea
Summary: The king has put up a reward: Kill the Enderdragon and retrieve the Ender egg. Whoever brings it will be rewarded with whatever they want.
1. Chapter 1

To Kill an Enderdragon

Chapter 1

It wasn't such a great day when a creeper was standing outside my door. I stared at it as it did to me. At this point, I wished I had a second exit. Or I wished I was living near the village. What was I going to do? I mean, I could just go back to sleep and wait until that creeper disappear. It would be nice. Then again, I couldn't really doze off with that thing watching me. Even if I did head into my room, the creeper would just follow me and stare at me through the window. Alright, I made up my mind. Taking out my iron sword, I stepped closer to the door.

With a mighty kick, I smashed the door open and pushed the creeper way back. It was in a good spot where it wouldn't blow up my house anymore. "Aahh!" I yelled as I charged in.

One slash, and I jumped back. The white flashes surround the creeper slowly vanished, and it hurtled at me. Another hit shoved it back. _Okay, one more and it's dead. _An arrow came out of the darkness and struck me in the shoulder. A frickin' skeleton hiding under a tree. Bastard. But it didn't stop me from killing the creeper. When it was done, I ran toward the skeleton. It was in front of me, behind the dead creeper, and I had sliced the skeleton's hand. Both the hands and the bow dropped on the grass. With no other weapon, it just stood there until I defeated it. Then, I took out the arrow stuck in my shoulder.

Sighing, I grabbed the bow, placed it behind my back. The quiver around the skeleton was also taken. Next, was the troublesome part. Gunpowder wasn't exactly rare since creepers popped up everywhere, but it did sell at a high price. The problem itself was that it might still explode if you didn't know how to get to the gunpowder.

Right now, I didn't have the proper item. Darting back to my house, I noticed a few butterflies that sneaked into my house while I was fighting outside. Oh, well. They'll leave eventually. My home was a two-story house… not exactly. I lied. It was only one floor with the addition to the attic. The living room was basically the place that wasn't blocked by a door. The core of it had pink wools as a carpet. What? It was rare for me to find a whole pack of pink sheep. Anyways, the tool that I needed was a simple steel dagger. It rested inside the chest in the attic. The only way to get to there was up the ladders in my bedroom.

When you entered my house, my bedroom was basically to the right. There were another bedroom to the left, but that was for a guest if they somehow stumbled upon my house that was in the middle of nowhere. Hahah, I was just kidding. I built it on top of a mountain. It gave me a perfect view of the village. And the forest below it was a good place to hide. Also, it wouldn't be as easy for intruders to arrive at my house at nighttime. They had to go through the forest filled with mobs, of course.

I got to the attic and there were at least five chests, each of them hold different things. From ores to food supply and to equipments. They were labeled. The steel dagger was stronger than the sword I was using, but I didn't exactly want to wear it out so soon. I used it for situations like this. I hoped the creeper was still outside.

Huh, funny. I was standing before the exit. I didn't realize this, but my door was gone. I kicked it too hard that it became just pieces of wood. Now I had to make another one. Well, in another time. But the creeper was the first priority.

The first mistake that a beginner would make was to cut at the chest height. The heart was there, of course, but it was also the trigger for the explosion. The gunpowder sack was down below, near the stomach. Well, I called it a stomach, but I didn't know if they actually eat or not. All they do was explode in people's faces. Anyways, making a clean cut to the abdominal are, I slowly opened the wound. Reaching inside carefully, I searched around for the soggy feeling. The sack was mushy since it only carried gunpowder, and wet too. It was pretty hard since I was wearing a leather glove. But when I did feel the gunpowder sack, I quickly pulled it out. And indeed it was. The consequences was that my glove was now wet and full of creeper slime. Yuck.

This and the bow should give me at least some gold. Anybody who wasn't me would think that I had to walk through the forest and into the village. I didn't do that. The forest blocked out the sun and the mobs were still alive in the forest. I wasn't planning on getting killed. I had a secret passage. Well, not so secret once you realized who obvious it was. It was a one way trip. I found out about it when I was gazing at the mountain. There were a lot of flat platforms on the outer region. They weren't all far away from each other, although I couldn't reach them either. So yeah, I jumped down the mountain. Trust me, it was a relatively tall mountain. One wrong move and I would be dead.

The hard part was getting back up to my house, but I had a plan for that too. Anyways, I was getting hungry. Maybe there was something good I could get in the village.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The village wasn't small; large rather. I said village when it was actually a kingdom. The castle sat behind the village with a terrifying gaze over it. The king himself wasn't a tyrant, and he hoped not to be. The villagers were some scary people and they weren't afraid to rebel. Any who, enough about the castle, we didn't need to know about that. What I was looking for was some grub. Following my senses, I caught my eyes on some shish kebab. Three for twenty-five silver. That was fair-ish. With a little bit of food in my belly, I headed for the blacksmith.

Everything around here was easy to find, for me at least, because they were all filled with a different kind of sound. For the plaza, just listen for the chattering of women. The blacksmith, well, the clanking of metal. The village was built out of wood, like most houses, and I was in the market section. When I did get to the blacksmith, I saw Welter working as hard as usual. He noticed me in my weary leather outfit and said, "You should get yourself in better armor, boy. That looks like it's about to tear any moment."

It kind of did, but I didn't say that. "I should, but not yet. I don't have the money. I am here to sell, though."

Welter continued to work until he finished the sword, and when he did, he wondered, "What is it?"

The bow on my back and the quiver I placed on my hips. There were a fine amount of arrows and then the gunpowder sack I obtained from the creeper. "It's not much, but it was what I could gather in the morning. I'll come back later with something better."

After our little exchange was done, Welter suddenly mentioned, "Kid, you know about the reward that the king had put up?"

"What reward?" I asked, putting the gold inside my money pouch.

"To kill an Enderdragon."

"Is he crazy?" I chuckled.

"Apparently, somebody told the king that if you kill an Enderdragon, you'll obtain an Ender egg. With the egg, you'll be unstoppable."

"Sounds like a king's wet dream."

"Indeed it is." He laughed. "But the reward is good, maybe you should try it out. He is looking for some exceptionally skilled warriors."

"Sorry," I said, "but I don't want to become a mercenary. I work for myself and only myself. Well, with the exception with Leah of course. I still have massive debt toward her."

"Which reminds me, she told me to give you something."

Welter scurried back to his house and came out with a package. It was wrapped in leather and tied with strings. I didn't know what it was, and I didn't bother to ask Welter. I just said goodbye to him and while I was walking around the village, I opened the package. Inside were a compass and a small letter.

_To Maximus:_

_How are you doing? I haven't seen you in a while. I guess it's because I never really have a job for you. But don't think that because I haven't had any job for you doesn't mean that you're out of the debt. You know why I sent you this letter, correct? Follow the compass and find me._

Leah was a nomadic witch. She called herself an alchemist, but to me, she was a witch. If you were really curious about what happened, well… she was working on an experiment that was about to be a new discovery. All the ingredients cost her a lot of money and effort. Then I came in and ruined it all. Now I was in debt since I couldn't pay everything, and even if I had the money, she wouldn't let me go since I was to work off all her wasted effort. That meant I had to wander around the place searching for such a plant I never knew existed.

Her moving around so much was because she was a tad paranoid that someone might get her. It was also better due to the fact that every place she traveled to had different kinds of plants. The weird part was that she had the amazing backpack that kept everything. That also mean her house. It appeared that Leah had magical powers also since this compass was able to point to her exact position.

Since she was summoning me, I had to be ready for anything.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

How weird. The compass was pointing toward the direction of my house. I continued to walk where the needle told me to go. It did point to the forest, and I was a bit suspicious. I was there in the morning, how did she get there? Unless she was hanging around the forest while I fought with a creeper. Wait… I didn't make a door. Crap.

With that on my mind, I used my other secret passageway to reach my house within five minutes. It usually took about an hour if you didn't know where you were going. Like the other passage, it wasn't really secret-like. Kind of. I swam up a waterfall.

Anyways, I got to my house. And there was a door there. Huh, weird. Entering, I got to the center of my house and that was where the compass went crazy. Unfortunately, it couldn't tell me whenever she was on the first or second floor. Although it was kind of obvious, she was up in my attic. Gulping, I went up the ladder in my room. There were cauldrons and brewing stands all around my attic. In the middle was an enchantment table. I saw Leah, mixing and doing what she usually did whenever I visited her. Then again, would this be considered her visiting me?

Leah heard me as I got my bearings when I was fully in the attic. She turned around, and greeted me. I did the same. She was a redhead, wearing a white overall cloak. Leah said she was paranoid of other people, so why was she so obvious? She could have dyed her hair and wear something more normal. Her hair was crimson bright and she stood out no matter where she was. I actually didn't know about her origin.

All I needed to know was that I accidently broke all her brewing stands which had all her hard earned ingredients and now I had to pay her by doing her dirty work. Yet today, I had a bad feeling about this. "You've heard about the king's reward, correct?"

"Y—yes…?"

"Hah! What an idiot that man is!" she laughed slyly. "To think that he wants the 'Ender egg' as a tool to become the almighty ruler of this Overworld."

"Is that not what the Ender egg is for?"

"Nobody knows what that egg is for. And also, it's not really called an 'Ender egg,' it's just your normal dragon egg."

"Do they hatch into dragons?"

"If you keep it well heated for up to three years, yeah."

"… Have you ever had your own dragon egg?"

Leah nodded, but sadly sighed. "I wasn't able to keep him. He was far too intelligent for me. Besides, he found out that I only kept him as an experiment."

_I think anybody would be mad about that. _I sighed also, knowing what was to come. "You want me to obtain the egg, huh?"

"Exactly! But it's going to be quite difficult."

"Why is that?"

"To most people, the Enderdragon is just a myth, since they've never seen it before. That's because the dragon lives in The End. According to the myths, in order to get to The End, you must find the Stronghold. And the possibility of finding the Stronghold is once in a lifetime. Well, if you search for it blindly."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, don't tell anybody else, but there is a better way to try to find the Stronghold. Let me give you the components." She pulled out a piece of paper, and went to her enchantment table. There was an ink bottle and a quill at the table, and she used it to write down the ingredients. When she was finished, she handed it to me. "Don't take too long. It might be hard to find the Stronghold, but with enough people, one of them might end up finding it."

I looked at what she wrote:

1. 64 Ender pearl (obtained through an Enderman)

2. 64 Blaze powder (from crushed by a Blaze Rod, obtained by a Blaze)

"What the hell is a blaze powder?"

"They're from a Blaze, I wrote it down."

"What the hell is a Blaze?" I shouted.

"They're in the Nether. You should find them in one of those fortresses. They're kind of easy to find especially since the Nether is surrounded by lava."

I sighed. An Enderman appeared around night time, or so the story said. I had to wander around finding one of those creatures. Ah, goodness. This was going to be a bother. Then again, if I didn't break all her stuff, I wouldn't be doing this.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

In order to save my energy, I slept until night time. I was to awaken when the sun was gone, and I didn't trust Leah to wake me up.

An Enderman was difficult to find during the night. They had to be the fact that it was covered in black. I might be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of them, and they'll end up following me because of it. Purple particle fell from their body and that was another way to find them. They made a little noise whenever somebody got close to them. And then their eyes glowed in the dark. Alright, it was kind of easy to locate one.

It was night time when I woke up. I equipped my leather armor and got a little tear on the shoulder. Crap. It didn't matter, just a little tear. It wasn't like it was going to screw me over, right? Maybe I should fix it. Although there was no time for that!

Grabbing my iron sword, I put it in my sheath which I tied around my hips, and left the house. When I closed the door, I heard, "Good luck!" from Leah.

Witch…

Bracing for myself for what was to come, I gritted my teeth as I wandered around the forest. I avoided battle from any mobs that I encountered. It didn't help by the fact that they kept on moaning throughout the night, so it was hard for me to spot a noise from an Enderman. Took me at least an hour or so until I saw purple particle appearing in my sight. That was when I caught a glimpse of an Enderman.

And goodness, the tales were true.

Endermen wasn't common until this time. They suddenly appeared out of nowhere and they were here to stay. People said not to look at them or else you'll be hunted down until either you or the Enderman was dead. The people of the Overworld found that scary—the Enderman chasing you and all—but what was terrifying was when you caught them in your sight. They were black all the way down to their feet, their eyes glowing white. Slim figure, no hair anywhere, and legs incredibly long. This one was sitting down, picking of the grass from the soil.

Even though I was hiding, just me laying my eyes on it made it jerked it's head right at my position. It freaked me now for I had never encountered an Enderman before. They said the best thing to avoid an Enderman was to have a small sized house where they couldn't teleport in. Oh, yeah, they could teleport. That was the one thing that made my spine tingled. They had the ability to move to one place in a snap. If only I could do that. It'd be so much better than hopping down flat platforms of mountains and swimming up waterfalls.

That wasn't the point. I tripped over myself in surprise. Laying on the grassy ground, I got back on my feet in order to see if the Enderman was there. Unfortunately, I wasn't staring at it long enough. I called it an "it" because Enderman didn't really have a gender, even if its name was Enderman. _Besides, mobs don't deserve to be called he or she. They're not human. _But back to where I was, I began to panic.

The Enderman could be anywhere. I was afraid, especially when it was a bit too dark for me to see clearly. I would light a torch, but it would be too risky for me. Attracting more mobs were the last thing I wanted to do. Now, the other fact about an Enderman was that if I stared at it without being distracted (or blinking), then it would do the same to me. That would give me a chance to attack. Possibly. I hoped so.

A first attack came from the Enderman. It appeared right behind me and knocked me back down on the dirt. When I turned around, it was gone. With an exhalation, I stood up and nervously scanned the area for the creature. Spinning around slowly, but surely, I searched for it. _Where are you, Enderman? _My sword was out, and was ready for anything.

Second one. This time it had decided to show up right in front of me. The sudden appearance made me flabbergasted, but I couldn't break my concentration right now. I glared into its blank eyes. The Enderman had its arm pulled back and was about to punch me until it was pulled into a staring contest. _Okay, whatever you do, Maximus, don't blink._ Slowly approaching it, the creature frozen, another breath was blown out.

"Arrghh!" I cried.

Swinging my sword right across its body, cutting the Enderman in half, I accomplished my first objective. The body disintegrated, leaving two little green pearls. I supposed they were the Ender Pearls. Picking them both up, I remembered Leah's list. She wanted sixty-four of these pearls. Goddamnit!

†

The sun quickly rose like it was in a rush. Unfortunately, that meant my hunt was over. I couldn't find that much Enderman around and all I got was twenty-seven Ender Pearls. Another night or two would be enough. I might find some extra from the ones that died from the light or in water. Too bad I was tired and I just wanted to go back home and sleep the pain away.

You know how I said my leather armor had a tear on one of my shoulders? Well, one of the Enderman that I fought was an aggressive one. I couldn't kill it in one hit like my first. In fact, it got mad that I injured it. My goodness, an Enderman with its mouth opened would haunt me until my next life. And guessed what? It bit me right where I was vulnerable. My shoulder! Now not only I was fatigued, I was also bleeding to death. This Enderman wasn't the last that I fought, somewhere around the fifth or so. Even 'till now, the bleeding wasn't stopping. I was getting dizzy. I hoped I was able to reach my house before I passed out.

If I was going to die, at least let me die in my house.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

It was a sad tragedy that I had died in the forest. What was even sadder was than my cause of death was because I bled to death. _I'm sorry, but the story's over. _I never got to kill that Enderdragon, or even obtain what Leah wanted. I never got to pay off her debt. Then again, that was a good thing.

"Hey, Maximus, stop sleeping!" the witch woke me from my eternal slumber.

Oh, I wasn't dead. Too bad for me, I guessed. It seemed that I had to keep on working my butt off for Leah. When I mentioned that I died in the forest, well, I fainted in the forest. Leah brought me back to my house, back to my bed. And stripped me naked.

"Ah!" I yelled. "What did you do me?!"

"Do what?" she asked.

"You took my clothes off!"

"And?" Leah said it like it was no big deal for me. "You were bleeding badly on the shoulder and the blood was getting everywhere on it."

Taking a look around my room, I saw that my armor was nowhere to be found. "Where did you put my armor?"

"I threw it away," she bluntly uttered. "It was trash anyway. If you're lucky enough, you'll find it at the bottom of the mountain, although some thug might've already taken it."

I groaned, yet I felt no pain. The wound was gone, the dizziness had disappeared too. I didn't know what she did, but I felt great. Better than before. I wondered what it was.

"If you didn't mind, I tested a few healing potions on you. Tell me, how do you feel?"

"For once, I actually feel fine," I answered her, smiling.

"Really? Hm, it appears that Rotten Flesh together is a pretty good idea."

"Wait… did you say you put those disgusting flesh from zombies in that potion?"

My stomach churned, and I wanted to hurl.

"I was thinking about how two negatives made a positive."

"Euuh…" I moaned. "Just… get back to the attic, I need to change. Please."

"Alright."

Off she went, back up in my attic. Using my blanket as a robe, I walked over to my chest which was to my left. Inside held normal clothings. Putting on a russet attire that consisted of a blouse made out of cloth and woolen trousers, I found my sword hanging about near my door. I grinned with glee. At least she didn't throw that away. Equipping it, I headed out and into the village. I had to buy some new armor...

†

"Hey, Maximus, what are you doing out of your armor?" Welter laughed. "Did it fall off the cliff or something?"

"I don't know how you did it, but yes. It did fall off the cliff. Leah threw it away."

He sighed, shaking his head. "That girl, she doesn't understand what the word personal means."

"I know. It's such a pain. Anyway, you should be happy for yourself. I'm here to buy some new armor."

That took the mood to a new level. Welter smiled and invited me into the building. I would say his house, since it was, but the front of his house was the store. It was filled with different kinds of armors, weapons, and accessories. Behind the counter was his son, Brady. He was a Smithsonian-in-training and would take over the store when Welter retired. Brady greeted me as I did the same. He was about two years my junior.

Welter knocked on the counter and ordered his son to bring out what he called "his baby." Kind of creepy, but I shouldn't be questioning this man. He would knock my teeth—no, he would knock my my jaw out with one punch. Brady hurried into the back and soon return with a set of leather armor. Welter's smile got even wider as he told me, "This is made from one of the finest cows ever to be bred. Would you like to try it on?"

I shrugged to myself, and agreed. Putting it on with ease, I realized how light this was. I was shocked. There were pouches aligned from my hip across my shoulder. Like he said, it was from the finest leather. It was quite comfortable. I grinned, the thoughts of buying this was in my head, until I remembered that this wasn't for free. Gulping, I nervously asked, "How much is this?"

"It's for free."

…

"Excuse me?"

"I said it's for free. Unless you want to pay for it."

"No, I didn't mean that. But why?"

"Well, it appeared the gunpowder you gave me saved my life yesterday. I took a short trip out of the village in order to gather some supplies. That was when I was cornered into a cave by a swarm of zombies. I dropped my pickaxe when I was ambushed, so I couldn't exactly punch the wall. And let me tell you, the walls were really thin. Fortunately, the sack had enough for me to create a TNT. I was able to blow my escape before the zombies arrived." He laughed with glee.

What kind of luck did I have today? I saw Brady looking at me, and said, "Thank you for that. I really appreciate it."

It wasn't me, really. Welter just happened to bring the gunpowder, it was really him who saved himself. But let me not say that, I just went along with it and ran out with the armor as fast as I could. Hey, I couldn't complain. It was for free! Oh, I was so filled with joy that I crashed into a fellow citizen of this village.

Or not. It was a boy, sitting on his butt. He groaned from the pain, looking up to the person who caused it. I apologized after gaining my senses, and helped him up. He politely forgave me, unlike some people. Taking a good look at him, I noticed that his hair was unlike the villagers. It was the same color as Leah. And if my instinct was correct, he might be an alchemist like her. Although I shouldn't be judging people on just their hair color. Because it'd be ridiculous.

Or not. He wore a cloak that hid most of his vials. The boy appeared to be the same age as Brady. He wore leather gloves and had a dagger at the side of his hips. Since I bumped into him, he might as well ask me, "Do you know of the White Witch?"

"The White Witch?" did he mean Leah?

"Yes, she is an infamous alchemist in my country. I've heard that she was spotted somewhere within this land."

"Are you hunting her?"

"For her head? No." He shook, and said, "I've traveled far in order to be her disciple."

"I thought you said she was infamous."

"She is, but that is only because she killed King Arlan when he tried to find out her secrets," he explained.

"Her secrets?"

The boy nodded, yet he said no more. "I best be going for now. She might catch the news that I'm here and flee to another country."

"Ah, I've never gotten your name."

"Ethan."

"Maximus."

"It was nice meeting you, Maximus."

"You too."

And I watched Ethan head off in the opposite direction of where Leah was. So sad. I wanted to tell him of Leah's current home. He would probably drive her out of my house. I also had this desire to know what he meant about the witch's secret. What did he mean by that? Leah once told me that I shouldn't get any closer than just being her servant at the moment. It would be too dangerous for me to befriend her. That was what she said anyway.

I sighed. There was nothing else for me to do in the village. Time to return to my house and rest for the day. Another hunt or two for me. Thirty-seven more ender pearls to go.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

About a three days passed after a few more near death moments. I finally got myself a stack of ender pearls. I offered them to her like a sacrificial ritual, and she complimented me for my hard work. By the way, I was expecting it to take two more days but it ended up being three. Why, if you must ask. It was because Leah blew up my roof with one of her experiments. I had to spend the entire day chopping down trees and rebuilding my house while Leah just loaf around in my house. By the time night came, I was way too tired for a hunt.

"Alright, now, all you have to do is get a stack of blaze powder."

I was about to head off to wherever I needed to be at, until… "I don't know how to get to the Nether. I've never been to the Nether before."

"Oh, that's easy. Just get a couple… well, at least a dozen of obsidian. Place them in a shape of a standing rectangle and lit it up with a flint and iron. Just don't get caught by the guards around here or else they'll think that you're trying to summon demons to the Overworld. If you do get arrested, I'm not going to be there to save you. And for all I care, they'll probably kill you."

"So you're telling me that I have to make a portal somewhere that the guards wouldn't find me and kill me?"

"You have to keep it well hidden too, if they see it, they'll destroy it and you won't probably be able to go back home. Or at least at the exact position."

"I have a bad feeling about this," he muttered to himself. "How am I supposed to get obsidian?"

"It's a strong type of rock, so you can always buy it at a certain price, although I doubt anybody here has obsidian. The best you can do is mine for some in a deep cave where there are lava around. Just make sure to bring a water bucket."

"Now not only I have to get blaze powder, I have to gather at least a dozen obsidian and risk my life making a gate to the Nether?"

She nodded. "Yep. Oh, and you need a diamond pickaxe."

"Argh. I don't mine, I don't even have a pickaxe."

"Well, you better start now or find one of those miners and help them out."

Ah, yes, the Mining Association. They were a group who gave out jobs for miners, and some of them went on a dangerous route so they would end up hiring a backup for them to mine safely. The protector would gain at least thirty percent of the shares. I knew of somebody who had this position.

Although he might be a bit crazy in the head for he hadn't had fresh air in a while. Markus was his name, and he was the best out there. The only problem was that he lived within the deepest part of the cave. It was called the Abandoned Mine, and from the name, you could probably guess. The village, or rather, the Miner Association declared that the cave was stripped of its resources. Off to a new cave they went.

But Markus stayed. He believed there was more to be found, and I hadn't heard from him since. I hoped he wasn't dead. Then I remembered, not even a creeper could stop him. Markus was one of those guys who wore a diamond armor. He was a successful fellow. Crazy, but successful.

Heading to the Abandoned Mine, there was a sign that said, "Keep out!" Although nobody really listened to it. And thus it was why the Abandoned Mine was one of the most dangerous spot. I didn't know why they put it like that, but ever since that announcement about the place, a lot more people came in order to train. Mostly warriors. Untrained dumb ones.

Stepping over the sign, I grabbed the nearest lit up torch hanging about on the stone walls. Making my way through the cave, it was pretty linear, bringing me downward. Then it decided to trick me and split into five different ways. Goodness. Which way should I go? Maybe I should follow the sound of a man yelling, "Get outta here, ya muckracker!"

That was probably Markus, although I didn't know who he was shouting at. I knew what he was talking about when I heard an explosion. The light to the northwest indicated his position. Rushing toward his direction, I almost tripped myself climbing down. I drew out my sword and found Markus defeating at least a dozen mobs. He blew out a heavy breath, holding on to his diamond sword. He stared at me, like his mind was sorting through his memories in order to find out who I was.

A few minutes later, he spread out his arms and exclaimed, "Maximus!"

"Markus," I greeted him. "How are you?"

He appeared to be fine, if you minus those cuts he had all over his body. He wasn't wearing his usual diamond armor, they probably broke after so much abuse. Markus had a beard that grew on his face and made him look about fifty years old even though he was only a year younger than I was. The man looked stressed out with all that unusual gray hair. A friend whom I hadn't seen in a year, it was good to see his face.

There was a pickaxe on his back made of solid diamond. He sniffed and rushed toward me, hugging me tightly. Ah, did I mention that he was loved to hug people? My goodness, he smelled! I pushed him away from me, trying to get that repulsive smell away from me. "You need to take a bath, Markus."

"Ahahah," he laughed.

"I need your help," I said. "At least a dozen or so of obsidian."

"Those wretched stone? Bah! I've a hunch of 'em in me chest. Didn't know what'a do with 'em. Why'cha need it for?"

"Things you don't want to be involved in. And why are you talking like that?"

"This is my crazy bearded man talk. I use it to scare away the folks who come to explore. And the Miner Association stopped bothering me because they thought I'd gone crazy."

"Ah."

"About the obsidian, are you making a portal?"

"Unfortunately, yes." I sighed.

"Count me in on it!" he exclaimed. "They said there are a lot of precious stone over there. I want to check it out."

"You do know that you might be killed, and possibly be lost if they decided to destroy the portal?"

"Please! I've stayed in this cave for a year and fought every creeper in my way. I think I can handle it."

"Ah, alright. You got a flint and iron, by the way?"

"Indeed I do. Man you've come unprepared."

"The items, yes. The equipments, no. I'm quite prepared for what's to come."

"Then let us get building!"

Leah gave me a sketch of watch the portal should look like, plus a few drawings of the mobs from the Nether. We followed the picture and built a four by three portal. We both sighed, and I let Markus have the honor of lighting it up. A small fire burned on the obsidian, and in the blink of an eye, the portal was activated. It made these weird noises and purple particles either flew in or out.

The portal was deep in the cave and nobody dared to enter this part. It should be safe. Probably.

We looked at each other and nodded before we entered.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Red was the Nether's favorite color. Seas of lava flowed under these crimson dirt-like ground. It looked like meat, kind of sickening. There was no sky for the netherrack—as described by Leah—had blocked it. She also said if I had taken the time to reach the surface of the Nether, I would find nothing but darkness. There were a few different variations of blocks. The main one covered most of this world. Though there were such things as the one that appeared to slow our movements when we stepped on it. _I think mostly because it's sticky. _Then there was the one that fascinate both me and Markus.

It had a pattern like a tree almost, it emerged from the 'ceiling' like a sprout. And it was a simple thing, it glowed. Markus broke it and turned it into dust in which he collected. Sadly, our time of wonder was coming to an end.

Weird, white floating creatures were above us, groaning. We stared at these creatures in awe. We would start respecting them, until they shot fireballs at us. It was unexpected, and we dodge as much as we could. None of us had a bow, and none of us used a bow. So much for range attacks. It blew up a type of stone that illuminate, and turned it into dust. Markus had a moment to himself as he picked up the dust and put it in a sack.

These white creatures were everywhere! It only took us a few this and burns in order to find out that we could deflect these fireballs with our swords. Markus' diamond sword worked best, though. So I borrowed his until we left the Nether.

Markus would be bothered by digging up everything in sight, anyway. And he was more skilled with the pickaxe than his sword. Yes, I said it. He dug with his pickaxe. Goodness…

"What did you want in this place?" he asked me.

We had defeated all the white creatures in the area. Before I answered his question, I got out Leah's sketches and checked for their name. A ghast was what Leah wrote down. I might as well check the other ones. A… zombie pigmen? Huh. After a few examinations of the rest of the mobs, I replied, "Well, according to Leah, I have to find a Nether fortress and kill at least a million blaze and get a stack of blaze powder."

"Who's Leah?"

"Right, I forgot. You were in that cave for a year. It's just some girl I owe a debt to."

"Oh?" he grinned.

"You don't want to meet her, trust me. I'd think she wouldn't want to meet you, either."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You haven't been out in the sun for a year."

"Well, there's lava everywhere here."

"That doesn't matter."

"It does."

"It doesn't."

We were arguing at the level of a child. Although I stopped after the fifth "it does or doesn't" argument. I didn't want to stay in the Nether anymore after fighting with those ghast. As we ventured on, while Markus was making a trail for us, we noticed some of the zombie pigmen wandering around. They carried around a golden sword. It appeared that they were neutral, and didn't harm us until we attack them first.

I said that I was prepared, but I didn't know this was going to be a long trip. About two hours or so passed of me trying to find this fortress, and we were getting hungry. I had this sudden reason to kill the zombie pigmen, and it appeared that their meat were already cooked. We had a small little lunch, of course, after a hard battle. Yeah, I know, it was kind of disgusting to eat something that was already decomposing. We resumed the search after.

†

The fortress wasted us a day or so. I didn't know since it was always the same lighting for us. It felt like a day. The trail that Markus made seemed so long. Of course, it wasn't bread crumbs. He left behind cobblestones; he had way too many of them with him anyway. None of us talked until one caught a glimpse of what the fortress might be. I thought I had grown a beard at that point, but that was only Markus.

As it was, the nether fortress Leah had spoken stood solid in the midst of the lava ocean. Bridges connected, there was only one way in. We both blew our breath, staring each other in the eye. Nodding like we both knew what we had said and took out our weapon. I stood in the front and to the left while Markus was the opposite. We were extra careful, though my arm felt weak from those battles. I hoped I was good enough for a few more swings. Markus looked like he had an infinite amount of stamina. My legs were wobbly, and I didn't know if it was from the fatigue or anxious. When the road segregated, it was when we encountered the guardians.

Smokes emitted from its body. I saw no such physical body but golden rods floating around it. There was a head, the top was of the same color as the rods yet the bottom was bronze. It gawked at us, and we heard the blaze's metallic breathing. Within a heartbeat, it attacked.

Their attacks were much like those ghasts, except they were much faster. Saddest part was that we couldn't deflect them either. We barely had time to react. A small looking cage with a doll on the inside that spun around like mad kept on creating more of these creatures. The blaze multiplied into three, raining down on us with their seemingly unlimited ammunition. They were up in the air most of the time and never really touch the ground. None of us had a bow or arrows. We were sitting ducks.

"Oy, mate, this isn't fair!" Markus' accent was coming back.

"Are you trying to joke at a time like this?" I cried out.

"I'm just trying to make the best of it!" he laughed. "This is great! An enemy we can't even reach! We might as well throw our weapons at them."

Whatever these blocks were, they were sturdy enough to hold all these explosions. Though we had little space and the two of us kept on bumping into each other. We had to think of a plan quick, else we'd be burnt bacons.

"Markus!" I yelled, an idea suddenly popping into my head. "Keep them busy for me."

"Alright," he replied.

The man stopped in his tracks and waved at the blazes, shouting out names. I sighed, but at least that would keep the blazes off of me. This plan was a tad idiotic, and I didn't exactly think it through. Anything was better than this, I guessed. I traveled up the stairs and to where the cage was. It had a fire barrier to it. As I took a closer look at this, I noticed that I had seen one of these before. Yeah, last year. Markus was taking me to his mine and we encountered a dungeon. This cage somehow kept on spawning more skeletons and we thought it was a good way to farm.

This shouldn't be any different. I hoped. The dungeon's stopped spawning mobs after we stuck a torch on top of it. Though after hard works of getting our hands ablaze, we were able to open the cage and obtain the doll. For some reason, all of the skeleton's attention came to the holder of the doll. It was weird.

So I had to try out this method again. A slow-minded person as I was, I touched the bars without a second thought. I grunted from the pain, speedily retracted, and licked my fingers. It couldn't stop me, however. Taking a deep breath, I grabbed the cage with both of my hands, and used all of my strength to haul this thing. When the side blew open and the doll was within my reach, the blaze also noticed that I had been tampering with their cage. I seized the doll and rolled myself out of the way for the oncoming assault.

Bringing the doll up into the air, I smashed it against the bricks. I shouldn't be calling these things dolls for they appeared to be made out of glass. Weird. Either way, the blazes died and their remains fell onto the bridge. I looked at Markus, asking, "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine! Just a few burns is all."

"Hahah…" I chuckled.

We picked up the rods that they left behind, well, after it cooled down. My next step was to grind this into a powder. With what tool, though?_Oh… don't tell me. _"Looks like we're going to be here for a while, Markus."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

I found the process of turning the rods into powder to be very simple minded, but tedious. First, kill the blaze via crushing their glass dolls. Second, wait for the rods to cool down. Third, use Markus' hammer and smash it into tiny little pieces. Finally, scoop them up and put the powder in a bag. I assumed Leah wanted about four bags of these.

Also, why did she call this a fortress? It looked nothing like one. This place was filled with bridges and possibly a few buildings, I supposed. I didn't exactly know what they were; rather than that they were shaped like a cube and had a roof over its head. Though I had to admit, the fortress was huge. We ran across some stray blaze and somehow managed to defeat it by luring it toward the ground. Then there were the ghasts once more. They were pretty easy once we figured out that we could just throw their attacks back at them. These white creatures were only dangerous when we weren't paying attention.

It wasn't much of a big deal, until we encountered the wither skeletons. I overlooked Leah's warnings about these guys. Oh, did I regret it. It was a foot taller than us, holding a stone sword. Markus took that for granted and immediately attacked the creature. The skeleton swung its sword, hitting the man's side. He flung to the side of the bridge, grunting. The stone sword was dull, but it definitely did some damage. I dashed at the wither skeleton, kicking him with both feet. It barely knocked the thing down. Bringing myself to my feet, I gripped my sword and hacked his hip bone.

A scratch was made, and it was the creature's move. It knocked me back with its empty hand. I thought it was alright, until the effect kicked in. It was weird, my body felt weak, and I could barely move. The skeleton slowly came for me. I looked over at Markus who appeared to be in the same situation as I was. A few seconds later and suddenly he was back on his feet.

He made the skeleton turn its attention toward him. It gave me some time to recover. While I was down, I had some time to think of a strategy. And when the effect did wear off, I stood up, and yelled, "Markus! Fight him like a creeper! Hit and run!"

"Got it!" the man said.

The wither skeleton was no match for the two of us, although I had to admit the hit and run strategy was pretty pathetic. _Hey, I have to do what it takes to survive. _And when the creature was dead, it dropped some coal and black bones. We collected them and continued on.

†

While we were heading out to the only bridge that connected this fortress to the land, we noticed a few looking red blob jumping around. They were dark red with black skin. It looked like they had suns for eyes. Some were huge, the others were small. They didn't appear hostile. Not yet at least. The two of us were careful coming in closer.

Naturally, they stopped and stared at us. Then they hopped toward us. It wasn't such a big deal, until they got a bit too close. The heat they were producing was terrifying! I swung my sword at it, slicing it in half. I thought the thing was dead, however, it regenerated. Or rather, they multiplied! The next thing that came into my head was to keep dicing until it was no more. That seemed to work, but it was pretty tiring.

Well, time to head on back. We had enough blaze powder to satisfy Leah. Covered in ashes, the two of us followed the trail back. We murdered a few zombie pigmen during the way home. Fought a few ghasts, and collected more glowstone dust. Everything was going well.

The portal was standing tall, still making that weird noise. Markus smiled at me, saying, "Well, it's been a long journey, my friend."

"Indeed it has."

He jumped into the portal, and I followed.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"This isn't my cave!" Markus shouted.

"Sh!" I hissed at him. "We don't know where we are, stop making so much noise."

"Where are we?" he questioned.

"I don't know, Markus! Now stop freaking out!"

"Alright," he sighed. "How about we just get out of here and see where we are?"

"Sounds like a good idea."

We climbed up to the top and the scenery was something Markus couldn't comprehend. He hadn't seen light in a year, and it blinded him for minutes. I sat him down against a tree, and promised I'll come back. I was going to check for any nearby villages. I left him for the time being while he was rolling around yelling that his eyeballs were going to explode. I didn't want to be near him anyway.

Toward the east was a hill, I scaled up the hill in order to have a better view. From what I could see up there… was something I couldn't breathe in very well. It was a village for sure. The problem was the fact that this wasn't his village. The castle that sat on a hill wasn't here. The hill I climbed up was actually part of the walls. The village was built in a crater. I looked around for the entrance, in which I did. Sliding down and finding Markus doing laps around the tree, I told him what I saw.

"So you're saying we're in a completely different continent?" he questioned.

"I don't know about that just yet."

"Then we best come up with a excuse in order to ask them."

We nodded at each other, thinking of a plan as we walked toward the village in the crater. The guards at the gate saw us coming their way, readying themselves for a surprise attack of some sort. We had our weapons in our sheath in order to show them that we meant no harm. When we were close enough for a conversation, they asked why we were here.

"We're a bit lost," I said, nervously chuckling.

"Are you travelers?"

"Yes, we are," Markus answered. "We're also looking for some work."

I nudged his abdomen, whispering, "What are you saying?"

"I'm just trying to make it smooth as possible," he hissed.

"We're actually in the need of some help," the one of the left replied. "The elder has been looking for outsiders. Please come in."

They opened the gate while the word 'elder' was stuck in my head. They didn't have any king? From the look of it, they didn't exactly have the correct armor a knight should have. They were made of leather, no iron. Their sword was silver, but looked completely worn out. When we entered into the village, people were gathering around us. It wasn't the fact that we were the one attracting attention, but rather, our diamond equipments. It was as if they had never seen diamonds in their life.

We were led to the house of the elder. Inside was an old man, his long, white beard dragged down to the ground. He was sitting, his eyes looked closed. One of then opened to see who was at his door. He then stood up, and greeted the two of us. "Hello there, young ones."

"Hey, old man, can you tell us where we are?" Markus blatantly put it out there.

I hit his shoulder, apologizing for his rudeness.

"No need," the old man said. "You are in the village of Yrelda."

"Mind if I ask what continent?" I inquired.

"Gremlin."

Markus pulled me close, speaking softly, "That's right next to Relin. So we are on a different continent."

I gulped, wondering what our next step should be.

"Elder," the guard stated, "these two have come to help."

Sighing, it appeared this was our next step. "Yes… we have."

The elder smiled, beginning his speech. It was something about him and his people having trouble with the neighboring village. They were afraid that the neighboring village might end up attacking. Our job was to… "Find out if the rumor is true."

"And what if it is?"

"Come back to us, and we shall prepare for war."

We didn't ask anymore questions, only leaving the village with a bit of knowledge of where the neighboring village was. Toward the north. That was where the forest started. We sighed, but continued on. "You know, we could probably just build ourselves a boat and just get off of this continent," Markus suggested.

"Yeah, good luck with that. The storms in between will definitely not get your one-man boat," I replied.

Another sigh was released, this time only from Markus.


End file.
